Wednesday, May 11, 2016

This week's Blindspot was like a powder keg. I feel an explosion coming soon.

CASE OF THE WEEK

Blindspot is never afraid to play with their ensemble, and "Of Whose Uneasy Route" is a perfect example of this. Borden and Weller have their quarterly therapy session where they talk about sports because they are adorable. Patterson and Jane are training. Well, Jane is training and Patterson is trying not to get killed. U.S. Attorney Weitz is back, prompting a chat between Zappata and Mayfair. And finally, Sara swings by the FBI to fill out power of attorney paperwork with Kurt for their father. She winds up in a elevator with Reade.

All of these characters end up in lock down together when a drill begins. However, there is no cell reception and Patterson cannot access the FBI network. It's not a drill. The FBI is being hacked.

Two FBI custodians are downloading the identities of uncover FBI agents for sale to the highest bidder. For about two seconds, I found it odd a custodians have such great hacking skills. They'd be much better suited for a technical position. Then I realized they used the custodian position to gain access to the FBI's network. Yes, I am an idiot. Not my finest hour.

When the team finally catches the hackers, there's a shoot-out. Carlos escapes, but his girlfriend Nicole dies, unbeknownst to him. Carlos demands Nicole's release or he'll drop all thirty elevators from the top floor — with passengers inside. Patterson is able to secure every elevator except the one in their building, which is — you guessed it — the elevator Reade and Sara are stuck in.

Carlos gives the team 10 minutes to hand over Nicole. And it takes about one minute for the team to formulate a plan. Kurt and Jane have to run up 70 flights of stairs to save Reade and Jane. They make it to the top floor in under five minutes. There's a shot of them hitting the 34th floor when Carlos tells Zappata they have less than five minutes. So that means Kurt and Jane ran up 70 flights of stairs in about 8 minutes.

Yes, my husband and I mathed it.

Kurt and Jane weren't even winded. Then Kurt dead lifts THREE people from an elevator, one of whom is a grown man. My husband called shenanigans, but I adamantly explained that nobody can question the wonder that is Kurt Weller. He achieves unachievable feats.

Kurt and Jane save Sara and Reade, while Mayfair and Zappata stop Carlos. It's straightforward case with a clean end, but that's because Blindspot is about to lower the boom.

Mayfair is arrested for murder.

TEAM BLINDSPOT

Of all the pairings, Zappata and Mayfair's conversation is the most interesting and the most heartbreaking. Weitz makes sure to say hello to Zappata, and Mayfair immediately notices they know each other. A toddler could have figured it out. Weitz practically hung a sign over Zappata's head that said, "SECRET INFORMANT." I realize Blindspot needed Mayfair to discover the connection to facilitate the delicious confrontation, but yeesh. Be less obvious.

Rather than immediately accuse Zappata of working with Weitz, Mayfair asks her where she sees herself in ten years. Zappata wants to run a division like Bethany. Mayfair tells Zappata about a time she was presented with a big career opportunity, but it was morally ambiguous. She told herself it was for the greater good and went along, but in her gut she knew it was wrong. When things went sideways, the powerful person who pressured her into it was nowhere to be found. Mayfair was left to be held accountable for her actions. She warns Zappata that whatever she's doing with Weitz to make sure she can sleep at night.

First, this scene is awesome because Mayfair lets Zappata know she's nobody's fool. Did it help that Zappata is the worst liar in the history of the world? Yes, but Mayfair would have figured it out regardless. Second, I love how Mayfair lowers the boom on Zappata while confessing to her involvement in Orion. She knows Orion in the root of Weitz and Zappata's suspicions, even if they don't know it. She simultaneously defends herself while confronting Zappata and it's fantastic.

Zappata comes clean. She tells Mayfair that Weitz thinks she's dirty. Mayfair wants to know what Zappata thinks, and she says she's not sure. Ouch. Zappata lays out the evidence, and it's true Mayfair looks sketchy at best and guilty as sin at worst. Mayfair is absolutely heartbroken over Zappata's lack of trust, and Zappata is absolutely heartbroken Mayfair gave her so many reasons to distrust her.

So who's right? I'm on Team Mayfair on this one. I think after all these years, Mayfair earned the benefit of the doubt or at least a conversation. Her tearful confrontation with Zappata only proves how much Bethany loves her team and how important loyalty and trust are to her. She's mixed up in something dirty with Orion, but I believe Bethany Mayfair is a good person. Furthermore, Zappata is throwing around accusations without confessing to the real reason Weitz targeted her: her gambling addiction. So neither party is perfect.

The worst part, of course, is when Mayfair is hauled in for questioning. Weitz believes she killed Alexandra, whose real name is Donna. She's a fixer and has been on the FBI watch list for years. Mayfair meeting her isn't just happenstance. The exact amount of money Mayfair gave Sophia is in Alexandra/Donna's bank account. So Alexandra/Donna is the person blackmailing Sophia Varma. I didn't see that coming! This love nonexistent love triangle just became a whole lot weirder.

But Weitz believes Alexandra/Donna was blackmailing Mayfair because she found out Bethany killed Tom Carter. Rather than keep paying her, Weitz thinks Mayfair killed Alexandra/Donna too. Oh... and it gets worse. All the evidence Weitz has on Mayfair is from the "honey do" list Oscar gave Jane. The pen, the zip drive, and the GPS tracker all create evidence to frame Mayfair for the murder of Tom Carter. It means Jane helped frame Mayfair for murder.

At which point I screamed at the television, "Are you going to stop sleeping with him now, Jane?"

See this is why you investigate super secret soldiers who threaten the life of your future baby daddy, Jane. Oscar was and is sketchy, I don't care how yummy the tea is, girl.

It's all been building toward this. Mayfair is the powder keg and Jane just lit the match.

KURT AND JANE

Kurt and Jane have an easy, teasing, banter for most of "Of Whose Uneasy Route." They even decide to get that drink they've been promising one another. So, obviously, based on that, we know everything is going to explode soon. During his session with Weller — in between the sports discussion — Borden does ask whether or not Kurt is second-guessing his professional instincts. He was wrong about his father, so Borden is concerned he's questioning everything.

Kurt is not. In fact, he tells Jane so: "I was right about you." Oh man... look away, friends. It's too painful to watch that happen in real time. Blindspot is peeling back the Band-Aid inch by excruciating inch. Of course, Jane's betrayal, all the lies, framing Mayfair, and sleeping with Oscar will all eventually come to light. The real question is which action will hurt Kurt the most. Probably all the lies will be the most hurtful, but I think "sleeping with Oscar" will be higher up on the list than he'll care to admit.

The point is that Kurt will wonder if he was wrong about Jane. Blindspot has cooked up a "get out of a jail free" card with Oscar's threat to kill Kurt if Jane didn't work for him. However, her intimate relationship with Oscar will probably hinder that argument. So the likelihood is that Kurt may not be receptive to Jane's reasoning. Like Mayfair, this is all a powder keg just waiting to blow.

Stray Thoughts:

Blindspot is pairing Borden and Patterson off with Kurt and Jane so you know their romance is a go. The ship has set sail. I'm ready to call "Of Whose Uneasy Route" their first official double date.

"Okay you're a Navy SEAL! We get it!" Patterson is me.

"It's your body. You should do what you want." So this lays the groundwork for a tattoo-free Jane next season right? I've heard Jaimie Alexander is having reactions to the makeup, not to mention the hours and hours it takes to apply the tattoos. I'm cool with a tattoo-free Jane. How about you?

Sara is moving to Portland to be closer to her ex. It seems Blindspot is shipping off Weller's family left and right. His dad is dying, and Sara is leaving town. This makes me nervous for Reade. Somebody on Team Blindspot is probably going to die this year, so Jane's betrayal carries heavy consequences. With Sara leaving town, Reade's jumping to the top of my list. Zappata is a close second.

"It's neither good nor bad. It just is." Borden laying truth bombs.

"Seemed faster." Kurt Weller joins the ranks of the many fictional and taciturn men I know and love.

Patterson teaching Weller to short circuit the doors is awesome. What a life of crime she could could have led! Thank goodness Patterson only uses her powers for good.

Anybody else think Weller lost the climb on purpose? Because... of the view? (C'mon, you were thinking it too.)

It came off like Weller's need to stop the elevator from falling was because Sara was in one. So it only matters because Sara is stuck? Sorry other elevator people.

Let me get this straight: Patterson can control every elevator in the FBI building except the elevator her team uses. That's a handy "special secure circuit" you got there, Blindspot. Extremely convenient for contrivance purposes.

"What about Kennedy and Hoffa? " Ha! Mayfair sass is the best. But seriously. Stop blaming Mayfair for everything, people.

2 comments:

I sincerely hope that who will die in the end is Oscar,I think his introduction has been a severe downfall for the show. first Jane begins to do things for the Oscar, it's hard to believe no one does things like that without having "why", then Oscar threatened kurt´s life, so why she had sex with him? is inexplicable,and that's what happened in this episode was more than obvious, Jane is Jon Snow.